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Hot tickets, new shows

11:08 AM, Jan 21, 2014

Oklahoma rocker J.D. McPherson returns to Rochester for a show at Abilene. (Provided photo)/

Written ByJeff Spevak| Staff music critic

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Click on this story at DemocratandChronicle.com to see a video of The Dan Eaton Band playing its song Happy Man.

The Dan Eaton Band plays host to its second Rochester Original Music Series with a 7:30 p.m. Friday tripleheader of locals at Zeppa Auditorium at the German House Theater, 315 Gregory St. The doors and the downstairs Zeppa Bistro open at 7 p.m., The Dan Eaton Band goes on at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Americana rock of another veteran of the local scene, Woody Dodge. Closing out the evening is a newcomer, The Heroic Enthusiasts, sounding like that melodic pop sound of the ’80s. The band says it draws its name and the influence for its allegorical love songs from the Italian philosopher and astronomer Giordano Bruno, who claimed that the sun was just another star out there in the solar system. That got him burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Church in 1600, but not before writing a poem called “The Heroic Enthusiasts.” Admission is $5.

The Dave Matthews Band presents two sets  one acoustic, one electric  when it makes its annual summer trek at 7 p.m. June 11 to Darien Lake Performing Arts Center. The show features the band in various configurations, and on some tours with special guests. Tim Reynolds, Matthews’ songwriting partner, will join Matthews for an acoustic duo performance during the acoustic set, much like what they have done for a couple of shows the last two summers at Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center. Tickets ($40.50 for the lawn; $75 for the pavilion) go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 7 at livenation.com, ticketmaster.com and (800) 745-3000.

 Also coming to Sticky Lips is Binghamton’s Driftwood, a wildly energetic string band, at 9:30 p.m. Saturday. The band is celebrating the release of its new self-titled CD. Admission is $10.

Switchfoot, Blue October, Manchester Orchestra, J. Roddy Walston & The Business and the high-octane Man Man play the 5:30 p.m. Friday “Extreme Graphix Rovers Holiday Hangover 2014” at the Main Street Armory, 900 E. Main St. Tickets ($10 in advance; $25 the day of the show) are available at rochestermainstreetarmory.com, Extreme Graphics, House of Guitars, J.D. Oxford’s, Aaron’s Alley. For more, go to thezone941.com.

The David Mayfield Parade blends humor and energy with some really heartfelt songwriting, a very winning package. It plays 9 p.m. Saturday at Abilene Bar & Lounge, 153 Liberty Pole Way. There’s a YouTube video of the band’s appearance at Abilene in December 2011 that shows Mayfield and his upright bassist lying on the stage in the midst of a very un-bluegrasslike psychedelic jam. Opening is Philadelphia’s The Kalob Griffin Band. Tickets are $15.

 Abilene has just booked a set of return performances by the fabulous vintage-minded Oklahoma rocker J.D. McPherson at 8:30 p.m. March 4 and 5. McPherson’s drummer is Jason Smay of Rochester’s Hi-Risers. McPherson has sold out the club in the past, and it’s likely to happen again here. Tickets ($15 in advance; $20 the day of the show) are available at Record Archive, the Bop Shop and the club. You may want to sleep at the bar that week; also playing then are Jessy Carolina & The Hot Mess March 1, Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen March 2, The Black Lillies March 3 and the Fleshtones March 6.

Multi-instrumental duo Mustard’s Retreat has a 7:30 p.m. Saturday show at the Rochester Christian Reformed Church, 2750 Atlantic Ave., Penfield. Tickets ($18; $10 for students; free to children 12 and younger) are available in advance at goldenlink.org.

This show is worth a 55-mile drive from Rochester, or points closer south: Jason Isbell plays at 8 p.m. Feb. 1 at Smith Opera House, 82 Seneca St., Geneva. Isbell is a former member of the Drive-By Truckers, and his heartache-loaded album Southeastern was my No. 1 for 2013. Opening is Holly Williams, great-granddaughter of Hank. Tickets ($20 in advance; $24 the day of the show) are available from thesmith.org.

Kim and Reggie Harris, known for their interpretations of Civil Rights songs, play First Unitarian Church, 220 Winton Road South, at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1. Tickets ($18 for general admission; $10 for students with ID; free for children younger than 12) are available at cafeveritas.org and the door.